Down the Rabbit Hole
by Labyrinth Runner
Summary: Lucy thought she would have a normal day trip to get a new key, but she was sorely mistaken. Maybe she'll make some friends and find herself along the way. NaLu.
1. Down the Rabbit Hole

**AU, obviously. Sorta. Well, you'll see. This is dedicated to James. Without him, this wouldn't be here.**

* * *

Lucy was on her way to the next town to buy a new key. She wasn't a fan of walking through the woods to get there, but she had no other choice. She was strapped for cash and a train ticket would leave her with no money for her key. That's what she got for running away, living with bare minimum comfort. She wasn't going to let that stop her from becoming a better wizard though, that's for sure. However, it was getting dark. Lucy knew she'd have to stop for the night; even she wasn't brave enough to travel though the woods alone in the dark. With a sigh, Lucy sat down under a tree for the night.

* * *

"This key better be worth it," she mumbled before drifting off into a restless sleep.

The sun shining through the tree canopy streaked Lucy's face with strips of early morning light. With a yawn, she opened her eyes and stretched before standing to resume her journey. That's when Lucy came out of her groggy stupor with the horrifying realization that she, Lucy Heartfilia, had gotten lost.

"Now I'll never make it to the town today," she whined, "and who knows if the key will still be there tomorrow!" She groaned as she sat on a nearby rock. Suddenly, she heard a voice from behind a tree.

"Happy, come on, we're going to be late if you don't fly me there! Who knows, my lead might be gone by then!" the voice said.

"Aye, Sir, but wouldn't it have been faster if we just took the train?" a second voice responded. Lucy just heard a moan in response.

"Happy, just hurry up so we can get to Hargeon," the first voice responded.

"Hargeon… that's the town I'm going to!" Lucy exclaimed. She ran off to where the voices originated from to see a blue cat flying off with a pink haired boy.

"Wait!" she called after them, but they kept flying. Lucy did the only thing she could think to do; she followed them through the forest.

* * *

Eventually, she lost them, but in front of her stood a large house. Lucy decided that since she was already lost, then she'd have nothing left to lose if she went inside. Oddly enough there was only one door inside, and it was a terribly small door at that. Lucy, thoroughly confused at this point, looked over and saw a table that she must have missed when she first walked in. There on the table was a small silver key. Lucy couldn't believe her eyes, that was the key that she had been looking for, Canis Minor.

"I guess I was supposed to follow that pink haired idiot," she murmured to herself. Lucy picked up the key and was about to leave when she realized that the door she used to get in was gone. She turned back around and faced the small door.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to try out my new key and see if it'll help me out. Open gate of the Canis Minor!" she tried. Suddenly, a small snowman-like spirit appeared before her.

"OH MY GOSH YOU ARE SO CUTE!" Lucy exclaimed as she knelt down to start a contract with her. After they shook hands to seal the deal, Lucy looked at Plue.

"Alright, little buddy, can you open that door for me?" She asked the spirit. He wobbly nodded and reached forward to open the door. However, the size didn't change, much to her chagrin.

"Well, what do we do now, Plue?" Lucy asked. The snowman-like spirit just shrugged and scratched his head.

"Wow, what kind of weirdo can't even open a door?" a voice laughed from behind her. Lucy turned around to see the pink haired boy stepping out from the shadows behind her.

"Come on, I'll take you through," he told her as he reached out his hand.

"I don't even know your name," she replied.

"Natsu Dragneel," he said as he looked at her expectantly. Lucy took a deep breath and took his hand. The second their hands touched, she felt warmth spread through her like fire.

"Come on let's go," he smirked as they walked to the door. A bright light was shining from it as they drew closer and the door grew. With a flash of fire in his eyes, Natsu stepped through with Lucy in tow. And that my friends, is where the adventure begins.

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 **A/N: Hello Readers, I thought I'd get my feet wet with a short NaLu fit in preparation for a multi chapter project I'll be starting soon. Reviews and Follows would be great.**

 **Love to all,**

 **Abby**


	2. All Roads Lead to Home

Natsu and Lucy emerged on the opposite side of the door as the blinding light faded. Lucy let her eyes adjust before she found herself in yet another forest.

"You know, I'm getting kind of tired of always being lost in some forest," Lucy grumbled.

"Who says we're lost?" Natsu shot back, "I know _exactly_ where we are and how to get there."

"Then by all means, lead the way," Lucy said with a show of her hand.

"Don't you want to know where we're going?" Natsu asked.

"What's the point of knowing where we're going if I don't even know where we are?" she responded.

"Fair enough. What were you doing in the forest anyway?" Natsu inquired as they started walking down a slightly trodden path.

"I was heading to Hargeon to get a new key from a magic shop there, but I got lost and when I woke up I saw you and that blue flying cat-"

" _His name is Happy_ ," Natsu corrected.

"Where is he?" Lucy wondered.

"He's up ahead a bit. I told him to wait for me because I was going back to get you."

"You _knew_ I was following you?"

"Yeah."

"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP?!"

"Hey, calm down. I didn't know you were yelling at _me_."

"Who else would I be yelling at in the middle of the woods?"

"You've got a point there, but you seem like such a weirdo, so you could've been yelling at the trees."

 _"That is the most ridiculous thing that I_ -"

"HAPPY!" Natsu yelled out to the blue cat sitting on a rock up ahead of them.

"Natsu! Who's the weirdo?" Happy asked as he flew up to meet his friend.

"This is… Huh. I never did catch your name, did I?" Natsu realized as he scratched his head.

" _Lucy_. My name is Lucy, and if you don't mind, I think I'll be fine enough on my own," She said as she went to storm off in a different direction.

"Lucy, wait! It's dangerous out there! You don't know what you could run into," Natsu called out after her.

"I'll take my chances!" she called back.

* * *

Lucy continued to walk to through the woods until she hit a fork in the road.

"Oh… _now_ which way should I go?" she groaned.

"Well, you could go left. Or you could go right. Or you could go up, or you could go down," a voice said.

"Who's there?" she called out.

"Oh, just an old man. What do I know?" Lucy looked up and saw a short old man sitting in the tree.

"Which was should I go?" Lucy asked him.

"That depends entirely upon where you want to go, Lucy." The man replied.

"I don't _know_ where I should go."

"Then why does it matter which path you choose? Besides, it would benefit you to remember that all roads lead to home."

"You're right. So I'm going to go left!" Lucy declared. She turned around to thank the man, but he was gone. The only thing that remained was a striped jester's hat. Lucy's eyes widened with the realization that he had vanished into thin air.

* * *

She continued on her way until she heard voices in the distance. Full of curiosity, she rushed ahead to see what was going on. Seated at a large table were three people. One boy had black hair, another was large and had white haired man, and the third was a girl with long brown hair.

"Hey, who are you?" the girl said as she chugged from a giant barrel of what Lucy could smell to be liquor. The smell tickled her nose and made it scrunch up a bit with it's potency.

"I'm Lucy," Lucy answered.

"You're new around here, aren't you?" the black haired boy said.

"Is it that obvious?" Lucy asked while shuffling her feet.

"Just a bit. You look a little overwhelmed by all this-"

"Madness?" she interrupted.

"Yeah, well, we're all mad here," he told her, "I'm Gray, by the way."

"Um… Gray, why are you stripping?!" Lucy cried out with her hands over her eyes. Gray looked down to see that his hands were slowly working the buttons of his shirt and were halfway done.

"DAMMIT!" He exclaimed with exasperation, "Why does this keep happening to me?"

"It's because you're not a man. A real man can win the lady's heart with his clothes _on_ ," the white haired man said.

"Elfman, I'm not _trying_ to win her heart," Gray responded.

"Well, you certainly won't at the rate you're going," the brunette girl added.

"CANA! Not you, too!" Gray frowned.

"Chill, Gray, I'm only teasing," Cana smirked.

"I should be going…" Lucy trailed off while slowly walking away.

"Lucy, wait! Be careful out there. Who know what you'll encounter," Gray warned. However, Lucy didn't think it could get any weirder than it already was.

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 **A/N: Well, there's chapter two for you. Hope you like it. Reviews are really appreciated. Love to all.**

 **Abby**


	3. The Red Queen

She soon realized how wrong she was. Lucy continued on the path and found herself in a royal courtyard.

"I WANTED STRAWBERRY, NOT BLUEBERRY! OFF WITH HIS HEAD!" an angry woman's voice yelled. Lucy peeked out behind a bush to see a red haired woman materialize a sword and throw it at a hedge.

"I'm sorry Queen Titania, but the kitchen was out of strawberries," a trembling voice responded. Lucy looked around and saw that she was standing in a wild strawberry patch. Thinking quickly, she bent down to pick up as many as she could before the scary red-haired woman could throw another weapon.

When she thought she had enough, she carefully emerged from behind the bush just in time to see another sword materialize out of thin air.

"WAIT!" she cried out. The Queen and her target spun around to see the new comer.

"Who are you?" the Queen harshly inquired. Her sword was now pointed at Lucy.

"My name's Lucy," Lucy timidly responded.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"Well, I couldn't help but over hear your…dilemma, so I picked these strawberries to help," Lucy explained as she offered up her bundle of strawberries.

"I see. Thank you," the Queen responded. She then turned to the man who was no longer cowering in the corner, " NOW GO MAKE ME A STRAWBERRY CAKE!"

"Yes, ma'am!" the man responded as he ran off.

"Now, Lucy. You shall eat this cake for me," the Queen said as she gestured to the blueberry cake sitting on the nearby table.

"Oh, no. I couldn't possibly-"

"YOU WILL EAT THE CAKE AND YOU WILL ENJOY IT!" the Queen yelled.

"I… um…" Lucy stuttered.

"Erza, leave Lucy alone," a familiar voice said.

"Natsu, what are you doing here?" Lucy asked as she turned to see the pink haired boy leaning on a hedge.

"What does it look like? I'm saving you," he said.

"From _what_?" Lucy responded with confusion.

"OFF WITH HER HEAD!" Erza bellowed as a bunch of swords started materializing.

"FROM THAT! Come on, let's go," he exclaimed as he grabbed Lucy's hand and began to run. Erza started to release her swords. Lucy didn't have to be told twice. They sprinted through the rest of the courtyard towards the forest.

* * *

Once they were far enough into the forest, they slowed down to catch their breath.

"Where are we going?" Lucy finally asked once she stopped panting.

"Home," Natsu replied without even needed to catch his breath.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **I'm so sorry that this is so much shorter than usual, but I've only got one more chapter left to write now. Thanks to everyone who's been reading this.**

 **Love to all,**

 **Abby**


	4. Home

"Home? But isn't that back there?" Lucy asked.

"Not for much longer, Lucy," he explained.

"What do you mean?" Lucy replied as her brows furrowed and she stopped walking. Natsu turned to face her.

"Lucy, don't you ever feel lonely?" he asked with his eyes burning bright.

"Well, yeah. That's what happens when you travel alone," she sighed.

"Then _don't_ travel alone."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see, come on," Natsu responded as he started walking again. Lucy stood for a moment before rushing to catch up.

* * *

They walked in silence for a long time, but Lucy's mind was nothing but silent. Ever since embarking on this crazy adventure and meeting these new people, meeting Natsu, Lucy began to realize just how lonely she was. She thought back to all the magazines she's read about different guilds and came to the conclusion that if she ever got the chance, then she'd join a guild. However, if she had to choose, she'd want to pick Fairy Tail. Lucy was pulled from her thoughts with a jolt as she crashed into Natsu's back.

"Why'd you stop?" she asked.

"We're here," he responded. Lucy looked around Natsu to see a large, two-story pagoda-like building.

"I… I can't believe it! Is that-"

"Fairy Tail. Come on, let's go inside," Natsu told her, "I've got some people I want you to meet."

Natsu walked up to the door and pushed it open before shouting, "I'M BACK!"

The activity inside stopped, everyone looked at Natsu and Lucy before a woman with long white hair twirled up to them.

"Natsu, who's this?" she asked while looking at the new girl. Lucy couldn't help but be entranced by the way she gracefully glided around. She was almost like a white queen in Lucy's mind.

"Everyone, this is Lucy," Natsu responded.

"HI LUCY!" everyone yelled back. Lucy looked around and could see everyone she had met earlier. Gray, Cana, and Elfman were sitting at a nearby table. Erza was eating strawberry cake in the corner, and Happy was flying around the guildhall.

Natsu turned to Lucy and said, "Look, I know we just met, but you _belong_ here. Can't you feel it? You are a part of Fairy Tail. You should be. Please, stay with me. Stay with us. You'll _never_ feel lonely again, you'll be a part of our family and we'll take care of you. All you need to do is say yes."

"I…" Lucy started to say no, but then she thought back to the forest and her adventure. That finally steeled her resolve.

" _Yes_ ," she decided, "I'll stay."

"Great, now let's go introduce you to the Master," Natsu said as he grabbed her hand and led her over to the bar.

"Hey gramps, I've got a new member for you," Natsu teased.

"Oh yeah? Let's see her," the man responded. Natsu pulled her out from behind his back and Lucy couldn't believe it, it was the same old man she had seen in the tree.

"I see you finally figured out where you wanted to go," the old man told her. Lucy blushed.

"Yeah, I guess I have," she replied while looking over at Natsu.

"And for that, I'm glad," Makarov told her. He then started to disappear, leaving nothing but a smile.

* * *

Lucy furrowed her brow at the sudden disappearance, but then noticed that everything around her was fading too. She found herself surrounded by an incredibly bright light. It was so strong that she was forced to close her eyes. When it finally dimmed enough for her to open them again, she was back in the forest. Only this time, she wasn't lost. She could see the town of Hargeon through the trees. She stood with the startling realization that it had all been a dream. However, Lucy got the strange feeling that that wasn't the last she'd see of Fairy Tail. With a new determination, Lucy continued on her way to Hargeon to get her new key.

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 **A/N: Hello everyone, thanks so much for reading this. It's hard to believe its over. Reviews would be great so I can figure out what to do for my next story. Love to all**

 **Abby**


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